Tens of thousands of people from around the world gathered Wednesday in an eastern Spanish town to hurl tons of ripe tomatoes at one another in a battle that painted the town red.

Participants in the annual "Tomatina" food fight marked the town of Bunol's 64th annual festival. Town officials estimated that more than 40,000 people took up arms with more than 100 tons of ripe tomatoes for the hour-long battle.

The event, thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends, takes place each year on the last Wednesday in August.

"Tomatina" cost the town of about 10,000 residents $40,000 to stage.

Bunol is located in a fertile region about 40 kilometers north of Valencia.